Albanian says he'll be slain if deported

An Albanian restaurant owner who says he publicly identified the men accused of gunning down a lawmaker in his home country is fighting to stay in the United States, for fear he will be killed if deported.

Rrustem Neza, 32, is being detained at the Rolling Plains facility in Haskell, about 210 miles west of Dallas, after immigration authorities denied his bid for asylum. His attorney asked the Board of Immigration Appeals on Monday to stop the deportation of Neza, his wife and one of his sons until a motion to reopen his case can be considered.

When immigration authorities tried to deport Neza late last month, airline officials refused to let him fly because he was terrified and did not calm down, Neza's attorney and family said.

"If he is going there, he will be executed," said Neza's brother, Xhemal Neza, 34.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement released a statement Monday saying Neza has exhausted his appeals to the immigration courts, so officials plan to deport him.

Rrustem Neza's imminent deportation has been reported by the media in Albania, where political groups continue clashing after decades of communist rule ended. His family believes the Albanian government will file charges against him for fleeing rather than testifying about the 1998 assassination of Azem Hajdari, a senior member of Albania's Democratic Party.

Protests over Hajdari's death led to the storming of the government building and the resignation of the prime minister. Democrats now lead Albania's governing coalition.

Rrustem Neza fled Albania after telling a crowd in the city of Tropoje the names of the men who allegedly were seen killing Hajdari and his bodyguards. Xhemal Neza said he had witnessed the ambush and told him and his two cousins he recognized the gunmen from the town where they grew up.

Police pursued the Neza brothers and their cousins while they tried to flee. The cousins were fatally shot before the family could flee, Neza's family said.

Eventually, Rrustem Neza made it to Belgium and then the U.S., where his wife, Nurie, gave birth to their now 6-year-old son. An older son, 10, was born in Albania. The family settled in the East Texas town of Lufkin.

Neza's two brothers came to the U.S. later and were granted asylum, and Rrustem and Xhemal Neza now own a restaurant in Lufkin. However, Rrustem Neza was detained in February. His wife and older son are not being held.

John Wheat Gibson, Rrustem Neza's attorney in Dallas, said his client didn't initially tell immigration authorities about identifying the suspects in the assassination and other details because his brothers hadn't yet reached the U.S.

Gibson also said Neza's previous lawyer failed to personally interview Neza and didn't properly research the case. Gibson also blamed an interpreter for giving incorrect details.

A previous appeal to reopen the case based on the former attorney's ineffectiveness was denied, and Gibson said he worries Neza could be deported before a decision on a new appeal.

A judge found that Neza has no right to remain in the U.S., and the Board of Immigration Appeals has previously agreed, ICE said.

"Since Mr. Neza has a final order of removal, ICE intends to remove him to his country at the earliest opportunity," the statement read. "Mr. Neza is obligated not to impede the lawful efforts of federal officers to remove him from the United States."